Faces/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, makes different facial expressions as he looks in his bathroom mirror. A robot, Moby, walks up to him. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, thanks for the warning, but I'm pretty sure my face isn't going to stick this way. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Why are faces so important? Thanks, Augustine. The human face plays a lot of different roles. It's where a lot of information is received from the outside world; it helps people recognize us; and it's one of our most important communication tools. Because it plays all these roles, the face is really complex. It's made up of a permanent foundation of skull, cartilage, muscles, fat, and skin. These structures govern how our faces look, how they differ from each other, and how we recognize each other. An image shows a skull. Then cartilage, muscles, fat, and skin are layered on top of it and form a face. MOBY: Beep. TIM: For most people, the first thing you do when you run into someone is look at their eyes and eyebrows. Eyes can look different: they can be round or narrow, large or small, close together or wide apart. And eyebrows can be low in the face, or higher. The eyes and eyebrows are really expressive, that is, it's really easy to tell what a person is feeling just by looking at them. Images show six contrasting pairs of eyes and eyebrows. TIM: Noses can be large, small, wide, narrow, straight, hooked, and more. Images show nine contrasting noses. TIM: Mouths can be wide or narrow, the lips full or thin, and so on. Images show six contrasting pairs of lips. TIM: Those are only the most obvious variations. There are about as many different kinds of human faces as there are, well, humans. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, ethnicity does have something to do with it. People who are from the same regions of the world tend to share some facial characteristics. An animation shows a spinning globe. TIM: Like people whose ancestors are from the Arctic have narrow eye openings padded with fat to protect against freezing winds. An animation shows a warmly dressed man in the snowy Arctic with the facial characteristics Tim describes. TIM: People whose ancestors are from very cold climates also tend to have smaller noses with smaller nostrils, which protect the nose from freezing. This is different from people whose ancestors lived in much warmer, humid areas like in or near tropical forests. These people tend to have large, wider nostrils. Side by side images show that people whose ancestors are from different climates have the characteristics Tim describes. TIM: Another obvious facial difference between people from all over the world is skin color. For the most part, how dark your skin is is governed by how much of a dark pigment called melanin your skin has. An image shows a dark-skinned man's face, then it shows the melanin in his skin up close. TIM: People who live in areas of high sun exposure tend to have lots of melanin, and darker skin shades, because melanin protects the skin from harmful sun rays. An image shows a dark-skinned man in bright sunlight. TIM: But those differences aren't absolute, and lots and lots of people have mixed ethnic backgrounds. An image shows a family try that includes the skin pigmentation of people from a mix of ethnicities. TIM: Whatever your face looks like, that's how most people recognize you. Moby is holding photos. TIM: And facial features stay pretty consistent throughout life. Photos show Tim at different ages. In one picture he's the president. TIM: Hey! Where'd you get that third picture? MOBY: Beep. Moby shrugs. TIM: Uh, anyway, facial expressions can change in less than a second. Most of our non-verbal communication happens through facial expressions, helping us decide things like how friendly someone is, or whether or not they can be trusted, or even what status they hold in society. An image shows an empty speech bubble. It rises away and images show a smiling woman, a shifty looking man, and a snobbish looking man. TIM: Even though faces vary depending on where you're from, recent research suggests that many facial expressions are consistent all over the world. A map shows the world. TIM: Pretty much anywhere you go, people will recognize that this face means, I'm angry! Images show four different frowning or grimacing faces. Then an angry emoji appears. TIM: And this face means, I'm happy! Images show four smiling or grinning faces. Then a smiling emoji appears. TIM: Hooray! Basic emotions like anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness, and surprise seem to be consistent around the world. Images show people with the expressions Tim describes. TIM: Scientists aren't quite sure how it works, but making an expression can actually make you feel the emotion. So, the next time you're mad about something, try smiling for a few minutes. It just might cheer you up! Tim smiles. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Ah, I think I'm stuck. Category:BrainPOP Health Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Transcripts